Instantaneous
by Isemay
Summary: "For a girl who loved photography, she seemed rather camera shy." /AmeViet; A request for shakhmaty


_A request for shakhmaty_

* * *

"Look, look! Isn't she cute?!" Alfred Jones practically shoved his phone in his best friend's face.

 _Cute_ wasn't exactly the right word to describe the girl displayed on the screen. _Pretty_ or _sexy_ didn't quite fit either. She was _beautiful_ , _handsome_ maybe, in a sort of unconventional way. Her dusty coal black hair was gathered in a low ponytail. Several strands framed her face and her bangs cast soft shadows over her caramel colored skin. She had a proud chin and her lips were curled into a rare, harsh half-smile. Her large, dark golden eyes surveyed the world over her shoulder with an even, calculating gaze.

Alfred had recently discovered her Instagram, Lady_Trieu394, through the amazing photography she uploaded. (Normally he wouldn't go for something like photography unless it was of like cars or food, but her photos made him understand why photography was even considered an art in the first place.) He stayed up until two in the morning browsing her account— liking, saving, and commenting on pictures. He comforted himself by the fact that there were over 300 other followers, so it wasn't like she didn't get notifications from other fans and, from what he gathered, she lived two states away. Even if she did take notice of Hero4Freedom96, his Instagram account, the chances of them actually meeting were slim.

His friend, Kiku, hardly glanced up and gave a noncommittal, "Mm."

Alfred wasn't sure what he had been expecting of him. The only girls Kiku took interest in were outlined in ink and trapped between pages. (Though really having a major crush on someone through Instagram wasn't much different.) Still, he huffed at his friend's indifference.

"You're not even looking!" Alfred complained.

" _Alfred_ ," Kiku intoned, his face uncharacteristically stern. "We are supposed to be doing our Physics project."

The blonde smiled sheepishly, feeling a wave of guilt. After much pestering, he'd managed to secure Kiku as his partner for their class project. Alfred did not have the best track record for doing his share of work so it had taken some convincing. Despite his promise to work hard though, for the past hour he'd posted a couple of mandatory tweets, checked his notifications on Tumblr, and scrolled through his Instagram feed.

"Sorry," he apologized and his friend quickly forgave him. For the next few hours, he set aside the incident and managed to focus on their work.

* * *

Alfred smiled at his phone's screen with that unconscious smirk that one often does when reading or looking at something funny on the Internet. Matthew cast his twin a questioning glance.

"What're you smiling at?" Alfred jumped, looking around frantically before he saw the other boy perched on the armrest of the couch across from him. The expression on Matthew's face was somewhere between amused and wary.

"Nothing." He attempted to smooth the smile out and returned his attention back to his phone.

Matthew moved to where Alfred lounged in the recliner and peered over his brother's shoulder. "Is it that same girl again?"

"Maybe."

Matthew rolled his eyes, but his voice was still soft, hardly audible, as he said, "She probably thinks you're a creeper by now."

"Once you get to a certain level of popularity, people who comment on all of your photos basically become fans, not stalkers. C'mon Matt, don't you know your social media etiquette?"

"What do you like so much about her?" Matthew asked, genuinely curious. It wasn't like she uploaded many selfies and she didn't reveal a whole lot about herself. For a girl who loved photography, she seemed rather camera shy. (Alfred's words, not his.)

"I dunno. I like her style of photography and she always has interesting posts. She has a kind of blunt sense of humor, but… I just like her." He let out a sudden 'awww' and turned to show his brother a photo of a large bear of a dog lolling on brittle, frost-bitten winter grass. The dog's face seemed to droop under its many wrinkles, nearly concealing its sleepy eyes, and its huge tongue drooled heavily to the side. Matthew had always felt uncomfortable around dogs, but Alfred loved them. "She likes dogs too!"

"It's a match made in heaven," said Matthew drily, but the sarcasm was lost on Alfred who was still cooing over the dog. His twin sighed and slipped away quietly. Hopefully the fanboy stage would blow over in a couple of weeks.

* * *

Kiku's adopted father was very proud of his Chinese heritage and therefore every year the Wangs purposefully set their Thanksgiving a couple of days after the actual Thanksgiving to give their own special, Chinese spin on the holiday. Unfortunately, most of those who were invited, including Alfred, were often too busy visiting family to come. This year though, Alfred had finally managed to make it to Papa Wang's Thanksgiving. Kiku was not sure whether to feel pleased to have his friend over or embarrassed.

He was greeted warmly on his arrival, though he suspected Kiku's parents were a little anxious as to what trouble he might cause this time. They'd never quite trusted him since the incident at Kiku's birthday party back in fourth grade. Nevertheless they showered him with the usual questions- how was his family doing? did he have a girlfriend yet? such a shame; maybe if he lost the glasses…? why didn't he bring his brother Michael along? Alfred couldn't help feel relieved when they were finally distracted by the boiling pot on the stove and Kiku's younger siblings. There was some time until the relatives would start coming and they sat down for dinner, so he and Kiku made a beeline for the game console in Kiku's bedroom.

.

Everything began to fall apart though when Alfred left for a two minute bathroom break. He'd only rounded the corner when he collided roughly into someone else almost his height. Something knocked against his nose and he yelped, reaching up to gingerly touch it. His eyes watered and he blinked a few times to clear his vision. The girl in front of him rubbed her forehead where he guessed he'd hit his nose. She was frowning and looked at him irritably. He froze. It was Lady_Trieu394 only life-size and a lot taller than he imagined (which he couldn't say appreciated very much). She was just as beautiful as she had been in the photos— a rugged, candid sort of beauty dressed in a rainy, gray-blue hoodie and dark jeans.

"Sorry," he offered in a nasally voice. The embarrassment was starting to sink in, but he did his best to smile.

"Your nose is bleeding." She had a low, flat sort of voice like she didn't use it very often.

"Ah." His ears burned and he could feel the warm liquid beginning to well in his nostrils. He tilted his head up, muttering another nasally apology, and stumbled to the bathroom to recover his dignity.

"Kiku, you jerk!" Alfred wailed, his voice sounding even more petulant with the wad of tissue stuffed in his nose. His friend looked up, bewildered. "Why didn't you tell me you were related?"

"What?" Kiku looked helplessly perplexed now. Alfred might've laughed at the expression if he didn't feel like strangling him at the moment.

"The girl I showed you on Instagram, remember? You didn't say anything about being related!"

"I don't—"

"Here!" Alfred thrust his phone in front of Kiku's face who frowned again at his friend's ignorance of personal space. Then he squinted at the photo.

"Oh, Lien?"

"What do you mean 'oh, Lien'?!" Alfred burst out, waving his arms in distress. "You could've told me she was going to be coming to the dinner today!"

"Alfred," Kiku hissed, "keep your voice down. Anyway, you show me hundreds of things every day, do you think I'm really going to pay attention to all of them?"

Alfred threw himself down beside his friend with an exaggerated groan. "Just kill me now."

"What happened anyway? Did she punch you?" He said it so seriously it made him wonder if something like that had happened before. He didn't really doubt it. He shook off the train of thought and threw the other boy a glare.

"No! I—"

A knock interrupted them and Kiku's mother's voice filtered cheerily through the door. "It's time to eat!"

"Coming!" Kiku called back. He looked at his friend who was now lying on the carpeted floor staring blankly up at the ceiling. He sighed. "Come on Alfred, it can't be that bad."

"Do you know how many pictures I liked and commented on? I never thought I'd actually see her in person and then when we actually meet I bust my nose against her forehead. This is all has to be some kind of bad dream."

Kiku stood and attempted to tug Alfred upright. "Well, you can always make a good second impression."

Reluctantly Alfred heaved himself off the floor and attempted clean himself up a little better before following Kiku to the kitchen. Normally the tantalizing smell of good food was enough to take his mind off of everything, but he walked about in a mournful daze.

.

His luck took another turn for better or for worse when Lady_Trieu394, Lien, sat across from he and Kiku. Kiku greeted her politely and she nodded.

"This is my friend, Alfred, by the way. Alfred, this is Lien." Alfred tried for a smile, but she only glanced at him.

"We ran into each other earlier."

"Quite literally," Alfred added. When neither of them said anything, he ventured, "So, how are you two related?"

"She's my third cousin."

"Cool. Are you in some kind of club at school, Lien?" The girl took a measured sip of tea before replying and even then it was still in a matter-of-fact monotone.

"Band."

"Like Kiku, huh? I'm a center for my high school's football team," he said with with practiced nonchalance. Talking about football usually got a girl's attention, even if they didn't care for the sport itself.

"Ah," Lien made an expression close to disdain. Alfred deflated, his pride once again hurled out the window. "Football is a pointless, violent sport. I don't see why everyone likes it so much."

"Alfred has an interest in photography, too." Kiku said offhandedly and he flashed his friend a grateful look. A new glint lit up Lien's dark golden eyes. It was the same spark he'd seen in her self-portraits on Instagram.

"Oh." There was a small pause then she started again almost hesitantly like she wasn't used to continuing a conversation. "What kind of photography?"

"Anything really. There're just some photos that really move something inside you, you know? Like you just feel deeply moved. Those kinds of photos."

Lien stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. Then her lips quirked into an small smile. "Yes, I know what you mean."

"I'm going to get seconds." Kiku stood and Alfred looked down to realize he'd barely made it halfway through his food. Kiku almost never finished before him. He liked to take his time and savor his food.

It was quiet for a moment after he left. There was the general chatter and scraping of plates around them, but to Alfred it felt too hushed. He itched to say something, but Lien beat him to it.

"So," she stirred her tea absentmindedly, but he could hear the half-mocking, half-amused note in her ostensibly neutral voice. "Hero4Freedom96, was it?"

* * *

 **A/N:** I tried. Sorry if it feels a little rushed ^^; This is my first time doing a request, but I hope you liked it!

I experimented a little and tweaked the canon characters' personalities a bit. I hope you enjoy a dorky Alfred (wait that didn't change nvm), a somewhat sassy Kiku, and a suave Lien~! I meant to have more interaction with Lien, but yeah. Also, what is point of view? Psh.

Just as a note, Lady Trieu is a heroine figure in Vietnamese folklore and I thought she'd be someone Lien would look up to, so that's where her Instagram username comes from:)


End file.
